As the Stamboliiski government struggles with reparations, the Bulgarian church, the VMRO, Yugoslavia, and more, its enemies all appear to be sharpening their knives.

Major Characters in this Episode:

Prime Minister Alexander Stamboliiski

Former Tsar Ferdinand

Gyorche Petrov

Timeline for this episode:

• 1921 Jan 5th - The Bulgarian government cuts all ties with the church over its boycott of the Church National Assembly. A compromise is reached two weeks later.

• 1921 Jan 11th - Tsar Ferdinand successfully gets the German government to pay him the money it owed him for the alliance in WWI.

• 1921, Feb 7th - The Second National Church Council is held in the National Assembly. It will meet over the next year to draft a new exarchial statute.

• 1921 Feb 27th - The Inter-Allied Control Commission arrives in Sofia.

• 1921, Mar - Bulgaria issues a memorandum to the Inter-Allied Council of the Entente requesting autonomy for Western Thrace.

• 1921, Mar 18th - The Peace of Riga ends the Polish-Soviet War.

• 1921 Apr 3rd - The “Ilinden” organization is founded in Sofia consisting of participants of the Ilinden Uprising. It advocates for Macedonian autonomy.

• 1921, Apr - The first set of labor battalions are called up, with only 10,500 out of 47,400 candidates showing up. A few months later, this law is modified under Entente pressure.

• 1921, May 12th - A law is passed stating a family may not own more than 300 decares of arable land.

• 1921 May 10-16th - After the Bulgarian Communist Party’s third congress, they decide to build illegal underground structures to fight the Agrarians.

• 1921, Spring - Green International is formed.

• 1921, May 24th - A bomb is thrown into a student demonstration in Sofia. In response, several clubs of the BKP are set on fire.

• 1921 Jun 28th - Gyorche Petrov, a federalist leader, is ambushed and shot by autonomists. In response, VMRO leaders are arrested in Kyustendil and then killed. In response, the VMRO decides to assassinate the minister of interior and federalist leader Alexander Dimitrov.

• 1921 Jun 28th - The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes approves a constitution.

• 1921 Jun - A VMRO conspiracy to enact a coup led by General Alexander Protogerov is thwarted by the Supreme Party Council of the Democratic Party.

• 1921 Jul 1st, A new simplified spelling system is introduced for the Bulgarian language. Several letters are removed.

• 1921, Jul 21st - A law is passed requiring everyone to attend 7 years of free public education. Within schools, the emphasis of teaching is shifted from the humanities to vocational and technical subjects. Students are banned from participating in political parties. Teachers and professors are banned from holding positions in parties as well.

• 1921 Oct 22nd - Macedonian activists under voivode Ivan Berlio kill the Minister of Defense Alexander Dimitrov.

Sources used in this episode:

• История на България в Дати by Vasil Katsunov, Plamen Mitev, Valeri Kolev, Evgenia Kalinova, and Iskra Baeva

• Crown of Thorns: The Reign of King Boris III of Bulgaria 1918-1943 by Stephane Groueff

• Aleksandur Stamboliiski by R.J. Crampton

• Peasants in Power by John D. Bell